Rural voters are just as likely now to vote Labour as Conservative, a surprise poll has found.
In a dramatic turnaround, the two parties are level-pegging with both attracting the support of 30% of people in the countryside.
It is a stark difference to the last election in 2019 when Labour was 33 points behind the Conservatives outside of urban areas.
Researchers say the “historic bond between the Tories and rural Britain” has been broken.
The survey, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Fabian Society, revealed half of rural voters now say they are unlikely to even consider voting Tory, while a third said they definitely would not.
More than half (53%) of voters in the countryside said the Tories do not share their values compared to 30% who said they did.
And 49% said the party does not understand people who live in their area, with only 28% saying they do.
A third of the 150 most marginal seats in Great Britain have at least 25% of their population living in rural communities.
In these seats, Labour has surged 18 points ahead of the Conservatives and is on 42 per cent. It was eight points behind at the 2019 General Election.
More respondents in these rural marginals said Labour understood people in their local area and shared their values than did not.
However, the party still has work to do, with 44% saying the party did not understand people who live in their local area and 48% saying it did not share their values.
Ben Cooper, a researcher at the Fabian Society, said: “The Conservatives are no longer the party of the countryside. Rural voters see the Tories as out of touch with their values and unable to understand their communities. Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have broken a historic bond between the Tories and rural Britain.
“Too often, Labour thinks rural voters are out of reach. But a third of the most marginal seats have a substantial number of rural voters. Labour’s path to power runs through rural Britain, as well as our towns and cities.
“Labour is well on track to make significant gains in rural Britain, but still has to convince rural voters that they understand the countryside. Labour must set out a vision that all places, including rural communities, can feel a part of.
“And they must address a specific rural perception of feeling left behind. In doing so, the party can secure a broad ‘one-nation’ mandate to govern the country at the next election.”
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